A little over a week ago, I was able to take my first tour of Jade Ocean – a condominium in Sunny Isles Beach. Sunny Isles Beach is an incorporated city located North of Bal Harbour and just South of Golden Beach. Many of the condominiums built along the ocean in Sunny Isles Beach are luxury condominiums and some of the finest buildings built in South Florida. Jade Ocean is no exception. Jade Ocean was designed by Carlos Ott. He also designed Jade Beach which opened a year prior.
I was very impressed with what I saw at the Jade Ocean. The building is directly on the ocean so you can imagine all of the views would be incredible. All apartments in the building have ocean views. Most have also intracoastal views. The building is also created entirely of glass which maximizes the views of the ocean. The building at the time I visited had an estimated 25% closing rate. I expect this rate to go up rapidly now that the building is opened up more for touring. Also model units were in the process of being put together to give buyers and idea of what is possible in these units. Pricing has also been reduced from preconstruction pricing in order to facilitate closings and new sales. Here are the photos of Jade Ocean:
While I was in the building I also had a unique opportunity to tour the penthouse apartment. There are only two condominiums at the very top and both of the apartments were already under contract and expected to close. So expect these two units to never be available at least for 5-10 years. Here are the photos of the North facing penthouse:
If you are interested in purchasing a unit at Jade Ocean give me a call to schedule a private tour – Samir Patel, Licensed Real Estate Broker – Miami Condo Realty, Inc. – 305-503-6183
HEY SAMIR
GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK FULL THROTTLE!
EXCELLENT PIX!
HOW MUCH ARE THE UNITS SELLING FOR?
DESPITE THE GRATNESS AND LUXURY OF THIS BROJECT,YOUR LISTING SHOWS A 1 BD FOR ALMOST 600K?
SEEMS LIKE A LOT FOR A BUILDING THAT IS EMPTY IN AN AREA FULL OF EMPTY BUILDINGS!
THANKS
PS: BY THE WAY, WHEN IS CONDOCLEARANCE COMING BACK?
Hi MCO –
Thanks. It is definitely a beautiful building. Keep in mind what is listed in the website for sale is the units from the MLS. These would be owner who closed early and are trying to get their investments back. Original pricing in the building was $900-$1200 per square foot if I remember correctly. Current pricing should be closer to $700 per square foot. Yes the building is only approximately 25% closings at this point but I expect they will do just fine. It is by far one of the top four buildings in this area. And the architecture and finishes are among the best. Also recently it was reported that Starwood Capital Group purchased the distressed loan assets of Corus Bank who had a loan on this building: Wall Street Journal Article. This may further reduce the prices slightly as it gives the developer more room to work with the note holder on repricing.
Regarding CondoClearance – It is not a big priority for me right now. I am in the middle of a couple of big marketing moves and deals so it is more important for me to get those completed.
hey samir..hope you disappearing is due to lots of buzz and work for u.
miss your great posts though
Hi MCO –
Yes things have been very busy recently. Sorry for the delays in posting regularly but I have to stay focused right now on following through for our current clients. I have a few sales pending and still hammering away on a few luxury rentals.
hey samir..sad to see your blog gone.
hope everything is fine with you though.
merry xmas!
Hi MCO – Merry Xmas! No the blog is not gone but I have not had much time to maintain it the way I would like along with redesigning all of our other sites and coming up with content for the blog. I've been trapped in showings every day and trying to close a few deals which have dragged along due to lending woes. I will definitely keep up the blog and will contribute to it much more frequently in the next coming months. I am considering changing the layout again to make it load much quicker. I also will be launching a worldwide luxury blog at http://www.LuxuryRealEstateBlog.com in the new year which will follow other markets as well.
Hey samir
So sad to see you have abandoned your website. Hope this means lots of work for you.
Waiting for new posts.
No one puts up a nice blog like you.
Hang on MCO. I expect to have a big closing in a week then will be taking much needed time off in which I will focus better on providing more content for this blog.
Hey Samir,
C'm'on! we miss your blog!!
Haven't posted anything new since October!
We enjoy your work!!
What's going on Samir?? No more posts???
Please come back to your blog!!!!!
Hang in there MCO! I've been pre-occupied with showings and marketing. I am a Real Estate Broker after all. Great deals around town for buyers looking for luxury condos.
Samir,
If you dont mind giving me some insider's scoop, I would like to know about Icon Brickell. I know it is not a building for everyone but I do like the concept.
I am aware they have slashed the prices in half at the viceroy and by 30% at towers I and II, but the units still seem overpriced to me considering the market nowadays.
I have also driven by at night and even though the sales office keeps advocating that tower I is sold out and they are working on tower II now, I know that is not true. Yhe bulding is pitch black at night. If there were like 50 units with the lights on in the 3 towers that woulld be an overestimation.
Do you have any info on the building? How likely do you think they will drop their prices more?
Thanks
MCO – I do like ICON Brickell very much. The first time I went there I didn't like the lobby much but realize that if I were a resident there, I probably would rarely walk through the lobby, (since you would be entering the garage and straight to the unit from there).
I think the issue that you see with the pricing is what many people will see when they first look at the pricing. The pricing at ICON Brickell is more complicated than you would expect. For sure there are not 100% occupied units in Tower 1 but keep in mind that there is limited inventory. How does that work? Well in pre-construction the building was sold out. So until they know an original buyer is 100% not going to close they can not offer to sell again that apartment. So in the interim what has happened is that the developer has rented out a few apartments, resold some apartments, and some they have pending to close with new buyers and original buyers who agreed to the price cuts.
Expect the official closing numbers in all 3 towers together close to 200-300 units at this time. But keep in mind that tower 3 only recently opened. And prices were only slashed in December. Since December the closings have rapidly been moving along. Not blazing fast but definite improvement.
Regarding the pricing again – what happened is this: When the building originally sold you would have had multiple levels of pricing. Example – Before the sales center opens type pricing, where friends and family are typically sold apartments, or brokers notify their past clients and offer them discounted pricing. Then you have the official opening type pricing, then towards the end of the project sales you may have the increased pricing. So when they recently cut 30% in tower 1. They just went across the board. You will find that you may find an apartment on a higher floor for less price then one on a lower floor. How does that happen? Well the apartment on the higher floor may have been contracted at an earlier date originally. So when the 30% was applied to that one it is an incredible deal. When it is applied to a unit which probably sold towards the end of original sales it is not as great a deal. Understand? Do I think the prices will drop more? It's possible but on the prices which were toward the end of original sales. I don't think much on the ones at the very begining of sales.
Thank you for your very thorough answer.
Do you see any disadvantage in buying at tower II? I know the owners now are different, but that is the only explanation in difference in prices?
People are also concerned as to what the maintenance may be in a hotel tower and all the traffic they get because of club 50.
Disadvantage in Tower II? Not really besides the higher pricing. Keep in mind that Tower II would have been presold after Tower I. So the prices were slightly higher to begin with. Also Tower II floorplans are larger than Tower I in the 1 bedrooms. So your one bedrooms will be priced higher. However I think Tower II also has some of the best views available in ICON. So they should be comparatively higher. Maintenance in Tower I and II is currently 52 cents per foot. Tower III is 67 cents per foot. The major differences are that Tower I and II offer one assigned parking space and second space through valet. Tower III is offers only valet parking. Tower III also has looser rental restrictions. Tower I and II can only be leased for minimum term of 6 months. Also the Hotel should have minimal impact on the building. There is a seperate lobby for the hotel portion and the condo portion of Tower III. Also it is not a cheap hotel so should have quality guests. And it also adds a nice ambiance to the pool area. Since the hotel guest are using the pool area the building actually looks active. Keep in mind that the hotel is also roughly 150 units.
sorry, typo mistake. I meant tower III.